Saturday, January 7, 2017

Sabres, Jets and Winning the Trade

With the recent Sabres slump sparking calls for the heads of Bylsma and GMTM, the annual visit of the Winnipeg Jets is a timely one, especially for defenders of Buffalo's general manager.

The Kane/Bogo for Myers/Stafford/Armia trade is arguably Murray's biggest to date, and only the haters completely detached from reality would argue that Winnipeg got the better of the deal.

Kane has been a regular bright spot in the lineup,powering toward the net on a nightly basis and owning his side of the rink, the complete opposite of his off-ice persona. Meanwhile Bogo has produced mixed results for his price tag. That being said, he's been a staple in the side for a reason: steady play and the occasional contribution.

On the other side if the trade, Myers still hasn't lived up to the promise of his Calder-winning season. In his first season, he was able to move his tall frame gracefully down the middle of the ice, looking like a giraffe loping across the Serengeti. Since then, he's looked too slow, too deliberate and suddenly too tall. Unfortunately for him, he's also been plagued by injuries since being shipped up north.

Armia once inhabited the wild imaginations of Sabres fans who are perpetually fixated on the next draft or the latest prospect to wow at the World Juniors. Now, he's a third liner fighting off Healthy Scratch status, a disappointment if he doesn't start filling the net soon.

And then there's Drew "I'd rather be a musician" Stafford.

With Myers out for today, its up to Staff and Armia to show GMTM he made a mistake in dealing them. While they might do so, the smart money is on another anonymous performance from the pair of ex-Sabres, forcing local outrage peddlers to focus on any perceived missteps from Bylsma or whoever is between the pipes.